Passing Notes
by ss-dragon-lady
Summary: The small notes that Iruka discovers left for him are about many things. Some are promises, some are questions, and some are just statements. But Iruka finds himself falling for the person who left them. Now, he just has to figure out who that person is.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own any part of Naruto, it belongs to the man who created it, Masashi Kishimoto.

Rating: G to PG -13 probably.

Pairing: Kakashi/Iruka

Summary: The small notes that Iruka discovers left for him are about many things. Some are promises, some are questions, and some are just statements. But Iruka finds himself falling for the person who left them. Now, he just has to figure out who that person is.

AN: Let me warn you a little bit about this story. The chapters are not very long at all. They are just little things, (Less then a thousand words each chapter probably) and the idea for this came from a very unexpected source. I was eating tacos from Taco Bell and and I picked up a sauce packet and read off what was wrote on it. It hit me that it may be a a small interesting story. I dug through the plastic bag, sorted the sauce packets I could use and decided on which order to present them. So this story is entirely based off the sayings on Taco Bell Sauce packets. The little 'notes' are direct quotes. Oh, also I don't have a beta, so this hasn't been looked over.

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Passing Notes

Chapter 1

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Iruka smiled kindly at the new genin team standing in front of his desk, their jonin sensei right behind them. The kunoichi he was used to seeing around the mission room, but he didn't know her personally. The children hadn't been in his last graduating class, but he knew them from the academy. Their clothes and faces were covered in dirt, the results from their very first D ranked mission as a team. Their task had been to plow and plant a field for an elderly couple. The kids looked tired, but the smiles on their young faces spoke volumes.

Iruka took the mission report that the girl of the group handed him. "Thank you, Kayo." He read through it quickly, making sure everything was in order. He looked back up to the group, smiling again. "Thank you for your hard work, Team Eleven. Congratulations on completing your first mission."

"Thank you, Iruka-Sensei!" The three youths chorused. Their sensei with them nodded once before leading her team from the mission room.

It was closing time, Team Eleven had been the last group in his line. He was also the last chunin on duty for the night. Iruka was dead tired, his new class was very rambunctious. They were still trying to press his buttons and learning their boundaries for his classroom. But no matter how tired he was he had to file all the reports that had been turned in for his shift. It was part of his job. He pulled the small pile of papers on the desk closer and began to sort through them. He was about half way done when something odd happened.

A small piece of paper slowly fluttered down in front of him, landing silently on the wood next to the mission reports. Iruka quickly snapped his head upwards to look above him, but no one was there. He proceeded to scan the mission office, again finding nothing. The nearest chakra signature was four rooms away and it was Genma. With a small touch of anxiety, Iruka reached for the bit of paper. There was nothing on one side, but on the other there was very neat calligraphy.

Iruka read the small note, a very light blush dusting his cheeks. _'I'm single... are you?'_

He quickly looked around again and still no one was there. It had to be a mistake or someone was playing games with him. There could be no other explanation. He zeroed in on the mistake aspect of his thoughts, because no one would ever send him such a note. That was it, it was a mistake. Deciding to forget the whole event he shoved the note into his weapons pouch as he stood up. He didn't want any fellow shinobi finding it.

Iruka grabbed the sorted mission reports and quickly filed them where they belonged in the connecting room filled with cabinets. He turned off the light, then shut and locked the mission office door. He activated the protection jutsu on the room before turning and walking down the street towards his apartment. The tiny note briefly occupied his mind, but he quickly pushed the thought away.

The note hadn't been for him. It had been a mistake... It just had been a mistake.

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I hope to have the next little chapter up soon.


	2. Chapter 2

An: Aw thank you to everybody that left such positive reviews for my story. I really appreciate them! You guys are awesome! And a big thank you goes to everybody that added my story to their favorite list, author alert list, and/or story alert list. You guys are awesome too! Here is the next chapter, enjoy! XD

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Passing Notes

Chapter 2

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Iruka walked down the street, enjoying the early evening breeze. It was starting to feel a bit cooler at night. A sure signal that summer was waning, and fall would be upon the village of Konaha soon. He had just completed his shift at the mission office for the day, but surprisingly he was not on his was home. He was meeting up with someone from the academy for dinner.

It could be called a date, but it hadn't been specified as one when he had been asked out. So he wasn't classifying it as such, just two friends from work having dinner and talking about their students. He wasn't even bothering to go home and change clothes, he didn't see the need too. The offer for dinner had come that morning and for a very brief moment he entertained the idea that the tiny note he had received three days prior had been from this very colleague.

Iruka had dismissed the thought quickly, sticking to his firm belief that the little note had been mistakenly given to him. Though that certainly didn't explain why he still had the note. It was lying innocently on top of his dresser. For some reason he couldn't bring himself to throw it away, he had already tried twice. He knew it was crazy on his part, but maybe deep inside of himself there was a small bit of hope that the note had really been from him. He was tired of being alone, taking care of only himself. It was the reason why he had said yes to dinner, even if his fellow sensei wasn't exactly his type.

Iruka strolled up to the appointed meeting place and of course he was on time. He pushed open the door to the rather nice BBQ restaurant and entered the building. He quickly scanned the patrons and found who he was looking for. He walked over to the table and sat down as he greeted his fellow shinobi.

"Hello, Aemai-sensei. I hope you haven't been waiting for long."

The young woman's smile was charming. "No, I only arrived a few minutes ago. I was afraid I was going to be late because I had to finish the lesson plans for next week."

"Oh yes, I finished mine during my lunch break. Have you ordered yet?" The smile that came to Iruka's face was kind as he studied the woman across from him. She was a chunin like him and she was very pretty. Her green eyes sparkled and her black hair flowed in bouncy waves down her back. It was a real pity that he found himself not attracted to her at all.

"No, I was waiting for you." The kunoichi answered as she fidgeted a bit, a little blush spreading across her nose.

"Well, let's not wait any longer, I'm hungry." Iruka signaled a passing waitress for menus. He turned his attention back to his table partner. He felt the need to keep the conversation going when it appeared it was dying. "Have any troublemakers in your new class?"

"Oh you know, there is always one." Aemai answered as she accepted the menu that was handed to her and opened it to read through the dinner selection. "His name is..."

Iruka didn't hear anything else she said, his entire focus on the tiny piece of paper that had fell out of the menu when he opened it. He slowly turned the paper over, noting once again the neat calligraphy. His eyes read what was written.

_"I'm green with envy." _

Iruka slouched in his seat, trying to hide his warm face from the woman behind the menu. Though he did reposition the menu so he could scan the restaurant to see if he recognized anyone, or pick up nervous chakra. Shikamaru, Ino, and, Choji were having dinner at the other end of the restaurant. He dismissed them immediately. He would not even entertain the idea that it was a former student who was sending him these notes. There were no one else he knew and no fluctuating chakra.

Iruka read the note again and felt his face get a little hotter. He wasn't naive, he's had a couple of lovers, so he knew exactly what the note implied. Whoever sent the note was envious of the kunoichi because the woman appeared to be on a date with him. Now this was an interesting development, it gave a clue about the person. The note sender was subject to jealousy, if not out right possessive. That could be a hell of a lot of people in the village, especially numerous individuals from the shinobi ranks, but he wasnt dismissing any civilians yet.

Well, apparently, the first note had not been a mistake since he had received a second. He was man enough to admit when he was wrong. He had a secret admirer, and he needed to find out who that person was. He turned his attention back to the kunoichi at the table with him. He would get through dinner, politely decline the offer of a second 'date' he knew was coming, and then go home to grade a few papers. He would think about the two small notes some other time and wait to see if he received a third note that held another nearly obscure clue about who the sender was.

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That's it for now and I will be updating again soon. I hope you enjoyed it, and please leave a review on your way out.


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Thank you for all the reviews, they keep me encouraged and motivated about this story. Because at first I wasnt sure if this story would be taken well, Im glad it was welled liked. So thank you so much again for all the great reviews, I love reading them all. Heres the next chapter to this little story. XD

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Passing Notes

Chapter 3

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Iruka stood up from his dining table and stretched, glancing out the apartment window at moonlit covered buildings. It appeared most of the village was asleep, only a few scattered lights were on in other homes. He had sat there for two hours grading a stack of essays after he had finished a shift in the mission office. Most times, homework was just as much punishment for himself as well as for his students. He gathered the essays together and placed them in his school bag, ready to be passed back out in the next class. He was happy to be done, but he was more thrilled to have forced himself to finish the essays that night.

Now he had the whole weekend to himself. He could do absolutely nothing if he wanted until Monday morning. Though that wasnt really him, so Iruka did have a few things planned. He would sleep in on both mornings, go grocery shopping for the week on Saturday afternoon, and on Sunday afternoon he would go train for awhile before going to eat some ramen at Ichirakus. It had been a few weeks since he has had any ramen. Other then that though, nothing else was planned. Maybe he would start reading the book he had bought a month ago.

Iruka went into the kitchen were he quickly made five rice balls out of some left over rice, the filling being salted roe and smoked skipjack tuna. He normally didnt eat this late, but well he had forgotten to eat earlier. He picked a small cup and the cooled teapot off the stove. He took it to the table before returning to the kitchen for the plate of food and a napkin. When he sat down at the table, he clapped his hands together, offering up a small prayer, and then he began to eat, looking out the window at the village he loved covered in a dark layer of night.

When he finished, he washed the very few dishes and left them on the rack to dry. Hed put them away in the morning. Turning off lights and setting traps as he went, he made his way into his bedroom. Pulling sleep pants and briefs from a dresser drawer, Iruka glanced at the two notes lying on top of the dark drown wood. He hadnt received anymore notes yet and it had already been three days since the second one. Maybe the note sender had already lost interest. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he walked into the bathroom for a quick shower, closing the door behind him.

Iruka stripped off his clothes, turning to examine himself in the full length mirror on the back of the bathroom door. He thought he looked pretty normal and didnt understand how he could attract a secret admirer. His over all coloring was brown, a drab brown at that. His body, while nicely toned, wasnt very muscular at all unlike so many of his fellow shinobi, the result of years behind a school desk. He had a few battle scars, but again there were way more impressive scars on ninja throughout the village. His height was about normal, five foot-eight inches, and his face fairly plain, except for the scar across his nose.

Even his ninja skills were pretty average, he had nothing outstanding in his battle techniques. Though it could be said that he loved to pull pranks. The only thing not normal about him was certain sensitive bits that wasnt considered big by some standards, but Iruka was still proud of what he was packing. Though the only people who would or should know that were his handful of past lovers and they had certainly been satisfied with him. He was plain and that was a very simple fact. A plain, ordinary shinobi in a sea of great shinobi with awesome talents. Scrutinizing the image of himself again, he truly didnt understand why somebody, anybody, would want to be a secret admirer to him. Turning away from the mirror, he stepped into the shower, intent on forgetting the depression inducing thoughts.

Fifteen minutes later, Iruka walked back into his bedroom. He used the towel over his head to vigorously scrub the extra water out of his hair. He grabbed the brush from the nightstand as he sat down on the bed, ready to fight the many knots throughout his hair. Turning a little to drop the towel beside him, he froze, his eyes on the tiny piece of paper in the middle of his bed. With a slightly trembling hand, Iruka picked up the paper. He read the very neat calligraphy.

_"Is green a good color on me?"_

A pleased smile came to Irukas lips. He should be mad that someone had broken into his apartment while he was in the shower, but the fact of the matter was he wasnt mad at all. He was thrilled to receive a new note and there was another clue hidden within the few words. If the breaking in wasnt clue enough, then the small sentence was. The new note had nothing to do with the previous note. The green referenced in the third note had to do with a standard issue shinobi vest. That meant his secret admirer was a shinobi and one that actually wore the normal green vest. While that clue could still be about a great many ninja, it effectively crossed all civilians off the list of who his secret admirer was.

Iruka rose from the bed and walked over to the dresser. A bigger smile spread across his face as he laid the third note down next to the other two. They were lying in the order he had received them. He also saw a pattern within the notes themselves, he was received a note every third day. So if he was correct in his deductions he would receive another note in three more days. He found himself actually looking forward to the next note and hoping it contained another valuable clue for the identity of the sender.

Iruka found himself speaking aloud for the first time that evening, so much awe and a bit of excitement clearly audible in his voice. "I actually have an secret admirer in the ranks of the shinobi."

He went to bed soon after, completely forgetting about brushing the knots from his hair. This was something he would regret the following morning, but his mind was only on the notes and note sender. The pleased smile on his lips clearly speaking for itself as he drifted to sleep.

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Thats it for this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it and I love reading reviews. It would be great if you can leave one before you press the back button. XD


	4. Chapter 4

AN: So many encouraging reviews! Thank You, everyone! You guys are so awesome! The reviews keep me encouraged on writing this story. So thank you all once again. Here's the next chapter, enjoy!

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Passing Notes

Chapter 4

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Iruka locked his apartment door and then quickly set the numerous traps. One could never be too careful, even in a village full of shinobi allies. He learned that lesson the hard way by way of Mizuki, his once childhood friend and ex-lover. Iruka hurried down the stairs and out of the building. The sun was rising in the east and Konaha was already starting to bustle. Many villagers were opening their shops and roadside stands, housewives already searching for the best deals.

It was Monday morning and Iruka was on his way to the academy, feeling refreshed after the very easy weekend. He had thought about the notes and the apparently hidden clues some, but he decided not to jump to conclusions. He would wait a little longer for more clues before he started to assume anything. He didn't want to look like an ass after all if he approached the wrong person, not to mention being utterly embarrassed. No, he didn't want to go through that , so he wouldn't begin making guesses anytime soon.

Iruka returned the wave of a young woman that ran the local produce stand that specialized in imports from other villagers. His attention had only been diverted for a couple of seconds, but that was all that was needed. A heavy hand landed on his shoulder. He jerked around to face the person, his own hand straying to his weapons pouch. Yet he stopped short when he was greeted with a blinding smile and bushy eyebrows.

"Fair and Noble, Iruka-sensei! Are you on your way to teach the next youthful generation the will of fire on this fine beautiful day?" Guy's booming voice seemed to echo off the surrounding buildings and made nearby villagers increase their pace away from the area.

Iruka wished he could perform such a strategic retreat as well. "Yes, of course."

"Have you thought any further of implementing the very youthful exercise regimen and uniform I discussed with you?" Guy quickly pulled out the one piece leotard. He dangled it before himself, flashing a thumbs up and a dazzling smile. "It will produce hip and cool youthful results in the growing academy generation!"

Iruka still shuddered at the very thought, much less letting the idea come to pass. There was no way he could stand even a single day in his classroom with all that stretched green material. He… ...green…... GREEN…... _**GREEN! **_…... Iruka felt extremely sick as the atrocious possibility spread throughout his entire brain, stopping all other thought processes. The last note referred to wearing green and Guy-sensei wore more green then anyone else in the village. His secret admirer could be Guy-sensei!

Well there was only one thing he could do when faced with such a fear inducing possibility, deny it no matter what. There was no way Guy-sensei was the note sender. The man thrived on everything that Iruka was not. Iruka was a plain, normal, simple chuunin. Guy would not find anything attractive about him, would not want him and that was that. Iruka would not entertain any further thoughts on the subject.

Iruka quickly realized Guy took his silence as an opening for continued discussion on the matter. The man was going on and on about the ugly green leotard. Iruka had to get out of there. He offered the jonin a polite smile before interrupting him mid-speech. "I'm sorry, Guy-sensei. I have to go or I'll be late for the start of classes."

Iruka didn't wait for a reply, even though he knew it was very rude. He turned and quickly sprinted away, towards the academy. He resolved to put the whole encounter out of his mind, he wouldn't dwell on it at all. So instead he turned his attention to the day ahead and the little bit of hope bubbling in his chest that he might receive another note.

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Classes were nearly over. It had been a very long seven hours. Iruka was sorely tempted to dismiss his class early, but he was still miffed at a few of the students. A small group of boys had set off a couple of smoke bombs that contained a disgusting smell. A few others students had tried to make an escape during the distraction. It was revealed by the leader of the group that he had gotten the bombs from his older genin brother.

So now the room was way warmer then usual as the windows had to be opened to air out the stink. The kids were getting even more restless then usual at that time of day because they were getting hot and starting to sweat. Iruka wasn't giving up though, he had a point to make to his rowdy class.

He swiped his sleeve across his forehead before speaking loudly. "Pop Quiz! Get out pencil and paper now!"

Groans came from all areas of the classroom as did rustling papers. Iruka hid his smirk as he moved to sit behind his desk, already thinking of the ten questions he would ask for the test. He pulled paper from the drawer on his right and laid it on his desk. He started to reach for a pen when he was startled by a flash of silver flying through an open window. A senbon imbedded itself in the middle of the blank paper, a tiny note that was quickly becoming very familiar dangled from a small piece of attached shinobi wire.

A nosey little girl from the Inuzuka clan spoke before the chunin could even move. "What is that and where did it come from, sensei?"

Iruka looked up quickly and scanned his class. It was still about twenty minutes early, but at the moment he didn't care. Though his students wouldn't be getting off that easy. "It's a senbon which you and your fellow classmates should already know. It came through the open window. No pop quiz, but I want a thousand word essay on the advantages of senbon and two other shinobi weapons of your choosing on my desk tomorrow morning. Class dismissed!"

There were many groans of pain, but no students attempted to argue with him. The kids grabbed their satchels and ran from the room before even more punishment could be added. With the room clear, Iruka turned his attention to the note. He pulled the senbon from the paper and wood, leaving the note attached to it. His eyes scanned the neat writing.

"_I feel so comfortable in your hands." _

Iruka couldn't stop the blush that raced across his cheeks. This note could be taken in a few different ways, one of them sexual and the only people he had ever been sexual with were his handful of ex-lovers. Though he was pretty sure that it wasn't one of them sending him the notes. In all, but one of the relationships, he and his ex-lover had both agreed that things weren't working out and parted on good terms. The other, Mizuki, was in jail put there by him. He highly doubted the man would be sending him anything, except maybe wishes for his painful death.

So it was, he decided to analyze it in the most direct way, it had worked so far with the other notes. It was obvious that the note sender was someone he dealt with regularly and seemed to very much like their interactions, probably someone from the academy or the mission room. Well, this note and it's hidden clue didn't help to much with the identity of his secret admirer, but it still arrived which showed the person was still interested in him.

Iruka liked that! It sort of made him feel wanted, but mostly because he found himself becoming more and more curious about the person behind the notes. He still had no clue as to just who his secret admirer was, yet he was beginning to actively like the person. He found himself going to his dresser several times everyday just to run his fingers across the notes as a smile stretched his lips.

Iruka shook himself from his thoughts as he tucked the note with attached wire and senbon into a pocket on his vest. He quickly gathered several stacks of papers that needed grading and placed them in his bag along with a couple of red pens. He would be busy that evening. He made sure his classroom was secure, complete with a few painful traps. He headed home at a brisk pace. He didn't want to run into Guy-sensei again, but more importantly he wanted to get home to place his latest note with the other three. A smile blossomed on his face as he broke into a sprint. He just wanted to get home, at least that is what he told himself as he ignored the warmth that was slowly spreading in his chest with each new note he received.

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That's it for this chapter! Please leave a review before you continue your web surfing. Thank you! The next chapter will hopefully be out very soon. XD


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